Taliban assail Trump's rejection of talks, vow to fight on

By: The Associated Press January 30

President Donald Trump, joined by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, right, speaks during a lunch with the United Nations Security Council in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

ISLAMABAD — The Taliban are assailing President Donald Trump’s rejection of peace talks, interpreting his assertion that “there’s no talking to the Taliban” as a dictate to the Afghan government.

“The true authority of war and peace is not with the Kabul regime, but with the American invaders,” the group said in an English-language statement released Tuesday.

The Taliban, who do not recognize the government in Kabul, have said they are willing to negotiate an end to the Afghan war in direct talks with the United States, something Washington has long rejected.

The Islamic State group and the Taliban are competing to take credit for a horrific spike in violence in Afghanistan over the last month, and analysts say both insurgent groups are growing in strength as security forces wither under their relentless attacks and a feuding government struggles to win over citizens.

By: Kathy Gannon, The Associated Press

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When asked about Trump’s remarks during a visit to Kabul on Tuesday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said “there is not a change in our policy.”

“Support for Afghan partners will continue until those conditions which were laid out in the policy, where we have the Taliban willing to come to the negotiating table to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the conflict here, that policy remains in effect,” he said.